Belief key to Hamilton fightback

Lewis Hamilton felt he could have won the British Grand Prix but was delighted to finish second after slipping to 18th.

The four-time Formula 1 champion qualified on pole for the Silverstone showpiece but lost the lead early on before falling to the back of the field after a collision with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

The British flyer then showed all his skill and, roared on by a vociferous home crowd, managed to limit the damage by finishing behind only race winner Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton knows that it is going to be tricky to retain his title in 2018 but admitted that he was always confident of challenging for the chequered flag on Sunday.

"Obviously, we’re in a tough battle this year and it’s the most intense battle that I think we’ve probably all had but I’m very, very grateful that the car was still in one piece after the Turn 3 incident," he said.

"I was last at that point, but I still believed that I could win – and I needed that mentality to make it back."

The Mercedes driver is now eight points behind Vettel in the championship race and was relieved that he was able to get so close to the German in his home GP.

"To get back to second is huge for us and I will definitely take it, of course," he added. "I’m happy with the drive that I did and as I said, what the team were able to do but, yeah, we’ve just got to work harder."

This article originated on sportinastorm.com

Neil Foster is an experienced journalist who specialises in cricket and rugby union. Neil also has a solid knowledge of tennis, golf and football.

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